First Kiss
by ladyoftheknightley
Summary: The Yule Ball is coming up, and Hermione and Ginny have a lot to discuss - from how to get a date, to what to do with him once you've got one. Then there's the small matter of kissing Viktor Krum...


**Disclaimer:** The world of Harry Potter could never be mine.

**A/N:** This was written for the 2012 Hogwarts Games Women's Football Round 1.2 - participants have one week to write an assigned canon pairing, in this case, Hermione/Victor. I'm definitely a Ron/Hermione kind of girl myself, but the girl should get to have a bit of fun before she gets together with him, shouldn't she?

* * *

"I've just got to let go of the idea that Harry's going to ask me to the Ball, haven't I?" Ginny Weasley said dismally. The two girls were lying on Hermione's bed in the otherwise empty dormitory, Hermione completing her Ancient Runes homework and Ginny petting Crookshanks.

At this proclomation, Hermione finally looked up from _Spellman's Syllabary_, and gave her younger friend a sympathetic look. "I think maybe yes, for this Ball at least..." she said, as kindly as she could.

"_This_ ball!" Ginny scoffed. "There aren't going to be too many others during our time at Hogwarts - I think the last time there was a Ball was when Bill was in his first year. Face it, he's not going to ask me to this dance, or any other."

"Well, maybe...and I don't mean this in a mean way, so please don't take offence, Ginny," Hermione said quickly, "But I don't think he really sees you as a girl. All you are is Ron's little sister - you're not a girl like...I don't know, Lavender or Parvati are girls."

"Lavender and Parvati! Does he fancy them?" asked Ginny, her eyes growing wide.

"No, no, it was just an example," Hermione said hurriedly. "But I think you need to let him see that you are, you know, a woman and everything..."

"How do I do that?" wondered Ginny. "I mean, these have popped up rather suddenly, and they're not small..." She pointed to her chest. "I could just thrust them in his face...can you imagine the heart attack that would give Ron?"

Hermione giggled. "Well, there is that way..." she laughed. "Or you could just go out and have fun with other people. Maybe get a boyfriend? Lots of boys think you're really pretty...and it doesn't have to be a serious thing!" she added quickly, as the redhead was looking doubtful. "Just maybe enough to get you to relax around Harry a bit?"

Ginny considered this, then nodded. "Plus, I might get to practise kissing a bit," she said. "I've...um...never been kissed," she blushed.

"Me either," admitted Hermione, going almost as pink as Ginny.

"I...have you ever practised kissing on your pillow?" asked Ginny, turning a shade of red so dark it was almost purple.

"No," Hermione said, addressing the window rather than look Ginny in the face, "But I did practise in the mirror once. I talked to myself and everything..." Both girls gave rather shrill giggles. "This conversation does not leave this room, right?"

"Right," Ginny nodded vigorously. "So,_ I_ need to get a casual-type boyfriend to help me get over Harry, but _you_ need a date for the Ball!"

"Oh, I don't..." Hermione said, waving a hand rather vaguely.

"You do," insisted Ginny. "Let's face it, unless I can persuade someone in your year to take me to the Ball, which is unlikely, I won't get to go. You do - you could go with a group of girls, if you didn't want a date? Or there's nothing stopping you asking someone to go with you. Who do you want to go with?"

Hermione panicked for a moment - she couldn't say the name she wanted to, not to Ginny! "Er...um...Cedric Diggory!" she improvised.

"Oh, he_ is_ really good looking, and one of the Champions and everything," Ginny nodded. "And everyone says he's really nice, too! Why don't you ask him? Surely it's worth a shot?"

"He's already going with someone - Cho Chang," said Hermione. Ginny's face broke into a smile at this news. "Yeah, it does mean she can't go with Harry - but he'll be really upset about it!"

"And I can be his shoulder to cry on!" said Ginny. Hermione rolled her eyes, and Ginny threw a pillow at her.

_two days later_

"Hermione! Guess what!" A shout drew Hermione's attention as she walked down the corridor, and she found herself being dragged into the third floor girls' toilets (which were mercifully free of Moaning Myrtle).

"Ginny! What're you doing?"

"I have a date for the ball!" exclaimed Ginny.

"That's great!" smiled Hermione. "Who is it?"

"Neville!" Ginny said. "We're just going as friends, which is nice - I don't think I'm really ready for a boyfriend but I still get to go to the Ball!"

Hermione beamed at her friend. "That's great, it really is," she repeated. "If you two are going just as friends, can I tag along?"

"If you want to, but isn't there someone you'd like to go with?" asked Ginny. Hermione didn't quite meet her eye.

"Well, if someone asks me, then I'll go with them, but if they don't..." she trailed off.

"If they don't - which I doubt, but anyway - you're welcome to come with us," replied Ginny. "Merlin's beard, can you imagine Neville's face when I tell him he's going to be taking_ two_ girls to the Ball?"

They both giggled. "He'll be stunned," Hermione said. "Anyway, I really have to get to Charms now, so I'll see you later?"

"Yeah, see you," said Ginny, as they made for the door. "Oh - before I forget, I'm struggling a bit with my Arithmancy homework. Would you mind helping me with it this evening? It's just a few of the harder problems I'm stuck on..."

"Sure, I'd be happy to," replied Hermione. "As long as we don't meet in the library." Ginny shot her a questioning glance. "Viktor Krum's always in there. I wouldn't mind, but he always has ten million giggling girls following him and I can never get any work done with them around."

"Suit yourself," shrugged Ginny. "I'll see you at dinner."

_one day after that_

"Um...Gin, can I have a word? In private?"

"Now?" Ginny looked up to see Hermione hovering in the doorway of the third year girls' dormitories, an expression of utter shock on her face. "Sure, come in..."

"I'll go to dinner - see you guys later!" Sarah, the only roommate of Ginny's present, said hastily, picking up on Hermione's hint. The older girl collapsed onto Ginny's bed.

"Viktor Krum," she began, sounding as though she could hardly believe the words coming out of her mouth, "just asked me to the Yule Ball."

"Oh my _Merlin_," breathed Ginny. "Please tell me you said yes! And how on earth did this happen? Where were you?"

"I was in the library, studying," Hermione said. "When he came and put his books down next to me. I was just about to get up and leave because of all the giggling girls, when he turned around and glared at them and told them to leave him alone or he'd set Madam Pince on them. So they left, and he turned to me and apologised for them, and said that he'd wanted to talk to me for ages. I asked why, and he said that he wanted to ask me to the Ball, because he thinks I'm very pretty! He said that he's been coming to the library every day to try to work up the courage to talk to me!"

"Wow, Hermione!" Ginny exclaimed. "That's amazing! And _so_ romantic! So what did you say?"

"Well, I...I said I'd have to think about it," Hermione replied, nervously folding her fingers together. "I mean, I don't know him at all...and he's 18..."

"So? That's only three years older than you," said Ginny. "And, hello, I know you don't know anything about Quidditch, but even _you_ know about Viktor bloody Krum! He's only the best Seeker in the entire world right now. And he wants to take you to the Ball! _Why_ didn't you say yes? Wait - there's no one else you want to ask, is there? I know you said Cedric, but..."

"No, there's no one else..." Hermione responded. "Definitely not Cedric, anyway. But...well, like you say, he's Viktor bloody Krum, and I'm just Hermione Granger. He doesn't know anything about me - and the only things I know about him come from the programme from the World Cup. It's not exactly the most auspicious start for a relationship, is it?"

"So get to know him," said Ginny. "And at the end of the day, he just wants to take you to the Ball, not get married or anything. If it doesn't work out, you can just say you had a nice time but you're not interested in a long term relationship or whatever..."

"So you think I should say yes, then?" Hermione asked.

"Hmm," Ginny said, pretending to think for a moment. "Of bloody course you should! It's Viktor Krum! What possible reason could there be for you to turn him down?"

"Well, I do think he thinks I'm called 'Hermy-own'..."

_three days later_

"Ron keeps trying to get me to tell him who I'm taking to the Ball," Hermione said, as she spellotaped wrapping paper around her parents' presents. "He's asked me five times already today - but I guess that's less than yesterday, he asked me eight times then..."

"Why don't you just tell him?" Ginny asked amusedly. "It'll stop him asking - and besides, he's going with Padma Patil, I heard. I'm sure she's a lovely girl, but she's no international Quidditch star..."

Hermione blushed and mumbled incoherent. "Pardon?" Ginny asked.

"I said, Ron wouldn't believe that Viktor had asked _me_ to the Ball - and neither would anyone else. They'd think I was making it up," she repeated.

"But why would they think that?" Ginny was bewildered.

"Because I'm not pretty, and I'm only clever, but only at schoolwork and memorising books. People stuff, and how to be sociable and flirt with boys...I can't do any of that!" cried Hermione. "I can recite whole passages from _Hogwarts: A History_, but that's not going to be what attracted him, is it?"

"You never know, it _could_ be," teased Ginny. "But anyway, you're being stupid! All this 'I'm not pretty enough' rubbish. You _are_ pretty - sure, you're not stunning like that Fleur girl, but neither am I, and neither are most people! And Viktor's obviously perfectly happy with how you look. _He_ doesn't think you should be prettier than you are. And anyone who doesn't believe you about him asking you is stupid - why would you lie about it when it would be so easy to prove you wrong? When you turn up on his arm...well, it'll be obvious to everyone that you weren't lying! Although..." she added calculatingly. "If you don't tell them, everyone's faces will be an absolute picture when you turn up in the Great Hall with him on your arm!"

"Especially Ron's," agreed Hermione. "He's been obsessed with Viktor since he got here, and he still hasn't worked up the courage to ask him for an autograph. When he sees that I'm actually going to the Ball with him..."

"...he'll be well and truly flabbergasted!" nodded Ginny. "I promise to stand there with Colin Creevey's camera to capture the moment forevermore for you."

Hermione laughed. "Ginny," she said, after a moment, "do you think he'll kiss me?"

"Who, Ron?" cried Ginny.

"No! No no no no no," Hermione said, shaking her head vigorously. "Viktor."

"Oh. Probably... Why?"

"Well, because, I mean...should I tell him I've never been kissed before?" asked Hermione.

Ginny thought about this for a few minutes. "No," she said eventually, "I don't think so. I think you should just go in and do it. I'm sure it won't be _that_ bad. Kissing can't be that hard - I saw Marcus Flint kissing someone the other day, so if even he can work out how to do it..."

"...then I, as I'm not part troll, should be able to as well," Hermione said. "Yes, I know, but Viktor Krum has probably kissed loads of experienced women who all look like that Fleur girl! How can I compete with that?"

"I don't think kissing's a competition, dear," Ginny laughed. "Look, just go with the flow. I'm sure you'll be fine. Oh! And _Teen Witch_ always says to not wear red lipstick in case it goes all over him. So, don't wear red lipstick and just act confident...I'm sure you'll be fine!"

"Yeah, how bad can it be?" Hermione said grimly.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that's the right attitude," she said. "In case you hadn't noticed, he likes you. It won't matter to him if you're a good or bad kisser - he likes being with you anyway. And if he does say something, you can always tell him that you need a bit more practise, can't you?" She winked.

Hermione smiled, and a rather dreamy look appeared on her face. "You're right," she said. "Oh, and did I tell you about what happened when I met him the other day?"

"Only once," said Ginny. "I'm sure I can stand to hear it again..."

_the night of the ball_

"I just can't believe him! I can't! 'That's not the point!' Of _course_ it's the point! Just because _Viktor_ noticed I was a girl before he did doesn't mean that-"

"Hermione, I love you and agree that my brother's a complete git but you've got to calm down or at least be quieter or you'll wake my roommates!" Ginny said, closing the bathroom door behind them. The other girl took a deep breath and looked marginally calmer. "Now," Ginny continued, "we can sit here and talk about how much of a git Ron is - which, don't get me wrong, would be fun - _or_ we can forget about him completely and talk about how much of a fun night you had. Come on, you know you want to spill the beans to me! Tell me what it's like to be Viktor Krum's girlfriend!"

The two girls spent nearly an hour dissecting the ins and outs of Hermione's evening, before Ginny asked the most important question of all. "So...did you kiss?"

A faint blush appeared on Hermione's cheeks. "Yes," she mumbled, whilst Ginny gave a muffled squeal.

"Yay! I knew it! Oh wow, that's amazing! What was it like?" she asked, leaning forward eagerly.

"Well..." Hermione's mind flitted back to those few wonderful moments under the stars. "I guess I've found something that I don't need to learn from a book! It was really...magical. But you were right, the other day," she added seriously. "I think I'm going to need lots of practise, to make sure I've got it just right!"

"Of course - and, well, with someone as handsome as Viktor as your partner, who wouldn't want to spend hours practising?" Ginny agreed.

"He_ is_ handsome, isn't he?" Hermione said.

"Well, you know me, Hermione, I am a one-wizard woman," said Ginny. "But even despite that...I think he's terribly good looking, yes."

Hermione laughed. "What about you?" Ginny asked. "Are _you_ a one-wizard woman?" She raised an eyebrow at her friend questioningly.

"Oh, I think I could be, yes," Hermione said, smiling. "Anyway, we'd better get to bed - it's really late."

She stood up and Ginny followed suit, glancing at a clock on the wall. "Blimey, it is! It's nearly two in the morning! Good job we don't have anywhere to be tomorrow, isn't it?"

"Well, _you_ might not have," Hermione said. "I, however, have another lot of kissing lessons to go to. You know I like to do things perfectly...and I don't think I've ever met a better teacher!"

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Please review (if you can't think of anything to say, just tell me the story of your first kiss. I promise not to tell!)


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